


Nobody's but yours

by floralchronic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akira Futaba and Morgana are adopted siblings, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, Trans Akechi Goro, everyone else is in their early 20s, futaba is 18, morgana is 13
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-09 05:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19882375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floralchronic/pseuds/floralchronic
Summary: College/Coffee Shop AU where Goro Akechi finds a sense of belonging after getting hired at The Velvet Room, a popular coffee shop in the city.{Tags will be added as the fic progresses!}





	1. Introduce Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> Goro Akechi starts his first day of work at his new job. Goro Akechi may or may not think his trainer is cute.

The feeling of butterflies in his stomach was never pleasant for Goro Akechi. He was nervous, it was his first day at a new job. Unsteady nerves always led to something bad, it seemed. The falling out with his “father” just a few days earlier was definitely not calming his nerves in the least, just adding to the anxiety of it all. Goro didn’tthink that his father would go so far as to disown him for coming out, but he did. “You’ll never be my son,” kept echoing in his head ever since the word’s came out of Shido’s mouth. As far as Goro was concerned, he was on his own now. He was told by the owner upon being hired that they were a very accepting and supportive shop, though, and god knows he needed that now more than ever.

Pushing open the door to the shop, he was immediately met with smiles from the staff and an excited greeting from the blonde at the counter. “Welcome to The Velvet Room! Hey, you’re the newbie, right? What’s up, dude!” The blonde boy walked around from his spot behind the counter to shake hands with the brunette. “I saw you at your interview the other day. Boss said you’d be here today! What’s your name? Go… go-something?” He asked, his embarrassed smile still seeming to light up the room. 

“Close. It’s Goro, Goro Akechi.” He replied. “And you are…?”

“I’m Ryuji! Nice to meet you, dude.” Ryuji led Goro to one of the tables and set down a blank name tag and pen down. “So, I gotta go get your trainer, but just sit tight and get yourself started on a name tag. I’ll be right back!” And with that, Ryuji set off.

Goro looked down at the blank name tag and picked up the pen. He was excited to have people call him what he wanted to be called, to be introduced as who he really was. As _Goro_ Akechi. As the pen’s strokes inked the name tag, he realized there was a bit of space at the end. Ryuji’s name tag had a little skull drawing at the end, maybe he should put something on his as well? Goro wasn’t a very great artist, but he figured he could draw something simple, like a bird. After a few more strokes of his pen, he sat back and began to admire his handiwork before he saw another staff member walk towards him.

The other staff member, a boy who looked about his age with curly black hair and glasses, came over to his table and reached out to him for a handshake. “You’re Akechi, Right?” The brunette looked up at him and nodded as he got up from his seat to shake his hand. “That’s me. Pleasure to meet you,” he paused, glancing at the name tag on his apron, “Akira. What a nice name.” He added, taking note of the little joker card drawn at the beginning of Akira’s name tag. It must be their thing here.

Akira smiled at the other boy across from him. “Welcome to The Velvet Room, we’re happy to have you here. I’m your trainer, Akira, and it looks like you’ve already met Ryuji. Let me show you around and introduce you. Oh, first I need to give you this.” Akira placed a blue apron in Goro’s hand, the same color as his own. “I’ll give you another one on your second day. Just put that on and clip on your name tag and we can get the show on the road.”

Goro nodded and did as he was told and realized he felt better with his apron on, already feeling like a part of their team.

“Ah, I forgot another thing,” the raven-haired boy paused and reached into his apron pocket to pull out a small pin, placing it into Goro’s hand. “Igor, “Boss Man,” told me to give this to you if you want it, it’s a pronoun pin. I lost mine a while ago but I go by he/they. All of us have the option to wear them, my apologies for almost forgetting,” he added with an embarrassed laugh.

Looking down at the small pin in his hand, he smiled. Even if he did manage to pass pretty well, having his pronouns next to his name for others to see was another sigh of relief. Goro put the pin next to his name tag and smiled back at the other boy. “Thank you, Akira. Shall we get going, then? I’m eager to start.”

Akira nodded, “Good to hear! Follow me.” The two of them walked past Ryuji, waving as they made their way up to the espresso bar section of the shop. “So, this is the barista section, where all the coffee magic happens. During peak hours we usually have two or three people here, but since it’s off hours, it’s just Yusuke right now.”

The blue-haired boy at the counter, who Goro could only assume was Yusuke, was devoting all of his focus to pouring steamed milk in an intricate pattern in a cup.

“Just Yusuke? Come now, Akira.” Yusuke set the cups down and turned his attention to the two of them. “Yusuke Kitagawa, famed latte artist for the Velvet Room. Pleased to meet you.”

  
“Goro Akechi.” He replied. A quick glance to Yusuke’s apron showed a very well done fox drawing on his name tag, and the “he/him” pronoun pin next to it. “Whoa, you made that on a latte?” Goro pointed to the finished product of the drink Yusuke made, small detailed flowers decorating the top of the drink.

“You flatter me. The branches in this one are a bit off centered, and the flowers-“ Yusuke sighed and shook his head, a smile returning to his face. “Thank you for the complement, Akechi. It was nice to meet you, but if you’ll excuse me I need to deliver this to the table, I can’t seem to find- ah, there she is.”

The three of them turned their attention to the sound of fast paced footsteps coming from the back of the cafe.

“Sorry, sorry! Shiho stopped by before class and I got distracted.” The bubbly girl with two pigtails reached for the cup on the counter and quickly went off to deliver the order. The customer’s reaction was positive, the three of them could see even from this far away.

Yusuke turned to Goro and Akira. “That’s Ann, she-”

The girl quickly ran back up to them and reached out to Goro for yet another handshake of the day. “I’m Ann! You’re the new guy! Goro Akechi, right? Aw, I love your little crow on your name tag.”

Goro smiled politely and shook the girl’s hand, “Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ann. Your- cat drawing, is very nice as well.” Goro’s eyes glanced back at the “she/her” pin and her name tag with a cat drawn on. Well, he thinks it’s a cat. He really hopes its a cat.

“Thanks! Well, I gotta go back and clear some dishes, but I look forward to working with you.” Ann waved at them and made her way back to the seating area.

“She mentioned something about “Shiho?” Goro asked.

Akira nodded, “That’s her girlfriend. She doesn’t work here, but she stops by a lot to visit. I think that’s everyone who I need to introduce you to so far. Makoto and Haru are off today, and these three are the full-timer’s, so you’ll mostly being seeing them. And yours truly,” he added, gesturing to himself.

The rest of his shift was pretty simple, most of it was just being shown around. “This goes here,” and “This is where *barista station ingredient* is.” He was able to shadow his trainer on the register when Akira took some orders, to get the hang of their system. Goro kept glancing at Akira when the boy was taking orders. Technically, he was supposed to pay attention to the customers and the order screen, which he did, but he found that Akira’s smile was a hard thing to look away from.

“Think you can take the next one? If you still need some more time, thats alright, it is your first day after all.”

Goro shook his head. “I’m fine, I can do it. You’re right next to me anyway, right?” 

His trainer nodded and gave a reassuring smile as they switched their positions: Goro at the register and Akira next to him.

The next customer to walk in was a middle aged man in a business suit who looked like he just woke up, despite it being almost 9pm.

“Hello sir, Welcome to the Velvet Room. What can we get started for you today?” Goro asked.

With a yawn, the man replied, “Let me get a large Wild Card. Iced, please.”

“Certainly, would you like anything in that?”

“Just as it is, thank you.”

Goro’s fingers tapped on the screen, doing just as Akira showed him. Once the customer was cashed out, he placed 3 dollars in their tip jar and thanked the two of them, making his way to the other end of the bar.

“You did really well, Akechi. You catch on quick.” Akira’s voice was smooth. The words he said, although they were merely simple praise and acknowledgement, felt comforting to Goro.

“Well, I do have a great teacher.” If Goro wasn’t so sure, he would’ve sworn he saw a faint blush appear on Akira’s cheeks.

“And I can’t wait to teach you more on your next shift. Good job today. You get a free drink whenever you work, so be sure to order one before you head out, if you want. You’re good to go.”

Goro marked his time slip and slid off his apron, grabbing a “Wild Card” like the customer before him. “Thank you, I’ll see you all in a couple days. It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to working with all of you,” Goro said, bowing his head to his new coworkers.

“The pleasure was all ours. Get home safe, Akechi,” Yusuke said from behind the espresso machine.

“Good job today!” Akira added.

He waved goodbye and headed for the door, but Ann was there before he could even reach the handle and pushed the door open for him. “See you when I see you! Have a good night!” She said, seeing him out.

The brunette put on his headphones and began his walk to the bus station, less than a quarter mile away from the shop. He felt good, surprisingly. The people he worked with seemed great, the place he worked at was open and accepting, and he had a free coffee to help him get through another night of psychology homework.

* * *

“Ann, you need a ride home today?”

“No thanks, Akira. Shiho’s picking me up, thank you though!”

He nodded in response, but insisted on waiting with her until her ride showed up. “What do you think of Akechi?”

  
“He seems nice! A little bit formal, but still a nice guy. I think he’ll be a good addition to our little group.” As she answered him, the headlights of Shiho’s car became visible, and they said their goodbyes. “See you later! Drive safe, please?”

Akira pouted. “I always drive safe! Goodnight!”

His commute back home wasn’t long, maybe about 10 minutes without traffic. He pulled up into his driveway and grabbed the small bag of pastries he was able to take home from work from his passenger seat. It was already late, but he knew those kids would still insist on eating nearly everything in that bag.

Turning the key into the lock and opening the door, Akira was greeted by his two younger siblings.

“Look who’s back! What did you bring home? Cake pops? PLEASE tell me you got cake pops, Joker!”

“Relax, Mona. I got you, like, two of them.” That was a lie. There were six in the bag, but this 13 year old was only getting two at 10pm. “Aaaand for the ever so patient big sister, that frosted snowman cookie you like so much.”

“You got the snowman back!! Finally! It tastes soooo much better than the other ones!”

“Futaba, they’re literally the same cookie. Just a different color frosting and cookie shape-“

“Something about the snowman just tastes better, dude. Cmon, you know I’m right.” Futaba took a bite of the snowman cookie and gave Akira a thumbs up. “Thank you!”

“No problem, weirdos. I know it’s Saturday, but please go to bed after this, it’s late. I’m pooped, so I’m going to bed.”

“Aw, boo.” Mona pouted. “Can we do kart racing tomorrow, then? Futaba even got new controllers!”

“Alright, alright. Let me get my sleep first and then we can play sometime tomorrow, okay?”

“Deal. Go to bed, old man!”

“Hey! I’m not old! I’m only 22!”

“You’re always complaining about your bad back, you might as well be 72.” Futaba said, snickering.

“You guys are cruel. Well fine, this old man is tired and he’s going to bed.” Akira stuck his tongue out at them before leaving through the backyard door and walking to the back house in the yard. It was nice having his own space, even if his own space was a back house in the back yard of his dad’s own space.

Akira brushed his teeth, washed his face, and changed into his pajamas before collapsing onto his bed. He set his glasses on his bedside table and plugged his phone in, opening up his group chat:

[Joker]: how goes it my guys gals and non binary pals. i was thinking

[Joker]: if we could invite the new guy out on saturday with us?

[Panther]: Akechi?? Yes! Hes so nice!

[Fox]: I do not see any harm in doing so.

[Fox]: That’s a fantastic way to welcome him. Good idea, Joker

[Skull]: already inviting the newbie? just what id expect from a leader like you dude

[Skull]: im down for him to go

[Queen]: It is the respectful thing to do, It’s fine with me. I heard his first day went well?

[Noir]: I can’t wait meet him! Have we decided what we’re doing for our outing?

[Joker]: hmm. karaoke? they do have happy hour this saturday on drinks

[Joker]: we open late the day after anyway. thank god for sundays

[Skull]: sounds good to me

[Noir]: How exciting!

[Queen]: I have to open the day after, so I may leave a bit early, but this sounds like a good plan.

[Panther]: wahoooo!! Drinks and karaoke with the newbie!

[Fox]: I wonder if he can sing? Or maybe he sounds like the steamer on the espresso machines, as Skull does

[Skull]: hey i do NOT sound like that!

[Joker]: guess we’ll find out next weekend. night everyone


	2. Coming outs & car rides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming out to your dad is hard. Getting a ride home from your coworker isn't as bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cracks my knuckles* welcome back to, "Me projecting"! 
> 
> tw for heavy transphobia in the first part of this chapter.

Dinner was quiet. No sounds were present aside from the occasional clinking of silverware to plates, the soft hum from the heater, and the heavy October rain hitting the window.

Akechi’s head was loud. His heart was racing. Akechi was _scared_ of this conversation with his father. He’s come out before. Telling him who he really is, what he wants to be called, what he wants to be seen as. Shido only seemed to shrug him off.

“I started hormones. Over a month ago.” Goro said, eyes fixed on his dinner plate.

The shift in the atmosphere was immediate. The sounds from the rain and the heater completely drowned out by the overwhelming silence and tension. There was a pause from the man across from him, albeit for only a split second, but he knew. Shido continued to pick at his food, occasionally checking his phone and reaching for his glass of water.

After a few minutes, minutes that felt like an all-consuming eternity, he spoke.

“I know you heard me. Say something! Acknowledge what I’m saying to you!” Goro’s voice was shaky. From rage or from fear, he did not know.

Finally, the man across from him —his father— spoke. “I heard you, _Akechi.”_

The younger boy grit his teeth and dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. “I-I’m your son, my name is _Goro_ -”

“You think I’m going to call you that after you demand it from me?!” Shido arose abruptly from his seat, the dinner table shaking in return. “Just because you’ve started injecting hormones into yourself doesn’t change that you’re a _girl_ , Akechi. Going by some made-up name and playing pretend, acting like a child in a fantasy.” The man, his father, roughly grabbed the collar of Goro’s shirt, pulling him eye level to the other. Shido was obviously angry, enraged. The smile that crept its way onto his face was murderous. “Your mother must have known what a **_disgrace_** you’d be. You know she died because of you, she couldn’t bear to watch her own child, her **_daughter_** , grow up to be a disgusting thing like you.”

The first thing Goro heard, aside from his father screaming at him, was the echoing _slap_ ringing in his ears. The next thing Goro felt after that was the piercing pain on his face and the blood on his tongue.

“Akechi,” Shido began, laughing as that sickening smile was still present on his face. “you will never be my son.”

Goro was quiet, still shaking after trying to calm himself. However, this time when he spoke, he was sure it was from **rage**.

He took a deep breath, wiped the dribble of blood from his lip, and looked up at the cruel smile in front of him. “Fine. I’m not your son.” Goro pulled himself away from his father’s grip, straightening his jacket and standing up straight. “And you are not my father. Goodbye, Shido.”

Though his body still trembled, his breath short, he exited his father’s home and gently closed the door behind him. Fighting Shido wasn’t worth it. “I don’t need to be anyone’s son.”

* * *

Getting up at 4am for work sounded grueling to him. It sounded even worse when he set his alarm for 4am at 1am the night before. After the first initial hour of being awake, though, it wasn’t too terrible. Akechi arrived at The Velvet Room 20 minutes before his shift started, welcoming the cool Autumn air that nipped at his skin as he walked from his bus stop. What Akechi didn’t expect to see was his trainer there so early as well.

“Akira?” Goro asked. “You’re here quite early. Do you take the bus as well?”

The boy with the jet black hair and glasses looked happy to see him. “Akechi! Good to see you! Oh, no I don’t take the bus, I just have a bad habit of getting to places early. Or, is that a good habit? Either way, it’s still nice to see you. You ready for your opening shift?”

Akechi was surprised to see someone so full of energy so early in the morning. “Yes, I suppose so. Is it only us?”

Akira nodded, “Kinda. Yusuke gets here at 6 when we “actually” open, then Haru and Makoto are here. But for now, just us. We do have some time before we have to start though, you want to go inside and sit for a little bit?”

As much as Goro liked the feel of Fall, he had to admit it was nicer to enjoy it from a warm place indoors. “Sounds good.”

The raven-haired boy slid his key into the lock of the coffee shop door and let Goro in first. The two of them grabbed a spot at one of the tables near the window.

“So Akechi,” Akira began. “I know you’re going to school, what are you studying? What’s your career goal?”

“Psychology. I hope to get a job where I can give young adults appropriate mental health care.” The brunette shifted in his seat. “What about you?”

“How admirable of you, Akechi.” Akira smiled, “I finished my associates degree in business, I might go back for my bachelor’s. To be honest, I’m happy where I am right now, so I’m not in a rush.”

Akechi’s stomach turned. He was happy for Akira, of course, but a part of him could not help the jealousy that went along with it. “Hearing someone our age say they are happy where they currently are is quite rare. Good for you, Akira.” The brunette smiled at the other boy and then looked down at his phone. “We should probably start now, yes?”

Akira glanced at his watch and gave Akechi a nod. “Looks like it is! I’ll give you the rundown and everything, should be an easy open.” With that, the two men put on their blue aprons and name tags and got to work.

Opening itself was, as Akira said, pretty easy. Grinding coffee beans, brewing coffees, making teas, nothing out of the ordinary for their shop. Yusuke arrived at 6am, along with the usual early morning crowd of customers. The morning flew by pretty fast.

A few hours later, two young women came through the doors together. One small, short girl with light curly hair, and another taller girl with short brown hair.

“Good morning, boys! How are you!” The shorter one asked.

Yusuke replied, “Quite well, Haru. How are you and Makoto?”

The girl with the brown hair, Makoto, was obviously very tired, but smiled. “Doing okay, studying for midterms is such a pain, though. Oh, my apologies.” She said, turning to Akechi. “I’m Niijima Makoto. You’re Akechi, yes? Pleasure to meet you.”

“Okumura Haru,” the shorter girl said. “It’s about time we finally met!”

Akechi smiled at the two of them and shook their hands respectively. “Goro Akechi, yes. I look forward to working with you both.”

“You as well, Akechi. Excuse us while we go to clock in.”

The rest of the day went well, aside from a few agitated customers when they found out the shop sold out of snowman cookies so early.

Akira leaned on the counter next to Akechi’s register to stretch out a bit. “I think you’ve met everyone now. Mostly. My sister, Futaba, helps keep up the shop’s social media, but she doesn’t get out of the house much. When she does, she normally has our menace of a little brother, Morgana. He likes to test out new drinks and pastries when we think of something new to sell.”

Akechi let out a little laugh. “You seem more like a family-run business with each passing day that I work. It’s refreshing to see that, Akira. I hope I get to meet them sometime.”

On Akechi’s first day he kept focusing on Akira’s perfect smile when taking orders from customers. Today, Akira found that he was transfixed on his trainee’s laugh. Genuine, sweet like honey, and he wanted more.

“Yeah, me too.” The raven-haired boy smiled back. “You said you take the bus, yeah?”

Goro nodded in response.

“Can I give you a ride home?”

Again, Goro’s stomach turned just like it had this morning. Not out of jealousy, though.

“Sorry, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have the money to pay you for the gas. I probably don’t live in the same direction anyway, it’s alright.”

“Gas money? Dude, I asked if I could give you a ride. I offered, I wouldn’t make you pay me at all.”

Akechi softly let out another laugh, “You’re a bit of an altruist, aren’t you, Akira. If you insist, I suppose it’s fine.” Who was he to turn down a free ride from his coworker? HIs surprisingly attractive, cute coworker.

Akira’s car was small, old, and a little dirty. There were clothes in the back seat, some coffee cups in the cup holders, but the passenger seat was clear, just for him.

“Music okay?” Akira asked.

“Music is fine.”

The boy in the driver’s seat turned on some old music to accompany their drive, turned on the directions to Akechi’s apartment, and set his phone down in the cup holder. The beat of the music was slow and the notes were sweet, it was relaxing. After getting settled, Akira checked his surroundings and backed out from his space, setting them off on their way.

Unsurprisingly, Akira was a good driver. Just as he’s so good at everything else. Goro kept his focus on the world outside the window. Akira tried to keep his on the road, but after a while of driving he spoke to his guest. “So, you’ve been here about a week, how do you like it so far?”

Goro turned his gaze away from the window and to the man chauffeuring him. “It’s nice,” he began as he relaxed into the warmth of the car seat. “I appreciate the opportunity and the warm welcome you’ve all given me. I hope I’ve been up to your standards?”

_“Standards? You’re practically perfect.”_ _Thought Akira._

“You’ve never disappointed me or anyone else here. I think we got a lucky strike with you.”

There was a gentle halt of the car as it stopped in front of the small apartment complex.

“Uh, hey,” Akira spoke softly. “I noticed that bruise on your face and the cut on your lip. Is everything okay?”

_Ah, there it is._ Goro thought the concealer from the drugstore would be enough. In all honesty, the bruise and cut on his lip were barely noticeable, but not to Akira’s perceptive eyes.

With a sigh, he replied “I just got into a bad fight with my dad. I told him about me being on testosterone, he lashed out.” Goro didn’t know why he was spilling everything to Akira so easily. Maybe he just needed to get it off his chest. “You know, bad coming outs and the like.” Goro sighed. “He’s not in my life anymore, after that. But don’t worry, It’s fine, really.”

There was a look of sadness and concern on Akira’s face. “I’m… really sorry about that. If you ever need anything I’m here for you, okay?”

“Thank you, but it’s really alright. I’m okay.”

Akira nodded. “Well, if you want to,” He began. “the group of us at the shop usually have an outing a few times a month, and we want you to go if you can. It’s on Friday, we’re going out for karaoke. If you don’t, I get it. I just thought you might want to go? The others want you there too!” Akira wasn’t sure if the timing of his offer was the best, but he still did want to ask the other boy if he wanted to go before it was too late.

“You want me to go?” Not only is it a challenge to pass up an opportunity to hang out with Akira outside of work, he had to admit that going out would probably help him, especially after his fight with Shido. “Well…if you want me to and I’m not intruding, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I might not do too much singing, though.”

Akira smiled at him. “That’s okay, it’s mostly just Ann and Ryuji fighting over who can sing the worst. I’ll pick you up, okay? And don’t try to pay me any gas money. I’ll message you.”

Akechi nodded, a genuine smile finding its way to his lips. “Thank you, Akira. I haven’t made many friends since I moved out here. I’ll look forward to this. Thank you again for the ride.” Goro stepped out of the car and gave a wave to the other boy before he turned the lock to his apartment to step inside.

After setting his bag down and practically tearing off his binder and pulling an old shirt over himself,his phone screen lit up with a new message notification.

[Joker]: hey, its akira!

[Joker]: if you still wanna go,

[Joker]: does 8pm sound okay with you for friday?

The little nicknames from the shop were cute, Goro had to admit.

“Pick me up at 8” sounds like a date when you think about it like that. Not that this is a date.

[Crow]: Yes, 8pm is fine. Thank you again.

[Joker]: no prob. i’ll have you home by midnight, cinderella

Was he-? Did he just-? No, no he was overthinking a simple message. This was _not_ flirting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna abandon this fic but i came out to my dad recently and got inspired. Like always, let me know what you think!! the song that they were listening to in akira's car is "is it any wonder" by durand jones and & indications

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think so far!


End file.
